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[electronic beeping, buzzing]

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[indistinct chatter]

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[narrator] It's June 2014,

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and online news site BuzzFeed
is holding the ultimate taste test.

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Mexican Coke versus American Coke.

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Yum, yum, yum!

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[narrator] Why?

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Mexican Coke exported to the US
is made with the classic recipe

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using cane sugar to sweeten it.

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Mmm!

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That's definitely super bubbly.
It's, like… It's freaking me out.

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Cleanse the palate.

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[narrator] But for the last four decades,

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American Coke has contained
a controversial ingredient.

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High fructose corn syrup.

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More of an aftertaste to the canned one.
I kinda prefer the Mexican one.

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[narrator] In the final showdown,
Mexican Coke is the big winner.

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-Yeah, that's definitely better.
-Mexican soda, the winner.

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[narrator] But high fructose corn syrup
is no loser,

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especially when you look at the numbers.

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The average American
ingests over 21 pounds

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of high fructose corn syrup every year.

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{\an8}It's found in nearly every aisle
in the supermarket,

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{\an8}and in foods you might not expect.

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{\an8}In 2020,

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{\an8}the US produced
7.6 million tons of the stuff,

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{\an8}enough to coat the whole of Manhattan.

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{\an8}And since 1975,

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{\an8}Americans have consumed
168 million tons of the syrup.

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{\an8}That would cover the whole of Los Angeles.

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And yet, a 2016 study

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found 53% of respondents try to limit
or avoid high fructose corn syrup.

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[crowd clamoring]

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With a market size of around $8.8 billion,

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high fructose corn syrup is more
than an economic juggernaut.

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Its producers are serious power players

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courted by politicians.

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Truly delighted to be here
with the incredible farmers

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who feed our nation
and preserve the American way of life.

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[narrator] But its reputation
is far from sweet.

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It is low-nutrition, high-calorie stuff.

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{\an8}[narrator] How did
high fructose corn syrup rise up

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{\an8}to dominate supermarket shelves?

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{\an8}[man] Get the cookies!
The kids want cookies!

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[narrator] And what is it doing
to our health?

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[fizzing]

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It's 1971, and US President Richard Nixon
has a problem.

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American farmers are struggling.

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Their income has plummeted,
partly due to rising costs of production.

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The people of this nation's farms
have not been receiving

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their fair share
of progress and prosperity.

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[narrator] Nixon needs the farmers' vote
to help him win reelection,

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so he appoints
a new secretary of agriculture

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{\an8}who's an old hand
in the farming world, Earl Butz.

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I want as good a living
for these family farmers

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as our city cousins can get.

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[narrator] Four months
before the election,

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Butz oversees a huge foreign grain sale,

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worth $750 million,

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to America's Cold War enemy,
the Soviet Union.

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I think most of the wheat growers
in Kansas would favor trade with Russia.

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[narrator] Farm income soon spikes.

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And riding high on the farmers' approval,

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in November 1972,

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Nixon sweeps to reelection,

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winning 49 out of 50 states.

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{\an8}I've never known a national election

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{\an8}when I would be able to go
to bed earlier than tonight.

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[laughter]

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[narrator] But in 1973,

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{\an8}with US grain supply now depleted,

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{\an8}food prices soar.

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{\an8}The same year,
the government renews the farm bill

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with the aim of maximizing production
and adding an incentive.

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If grain drops below a set price,

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the government and taxpayers
will make up the difference.

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The largest of these crops and key
to the nation's food supply is corn.

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Butz encourages farmers
to plant fencerow to fencerow,

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producing as much as they possibly can
to help drive food prices down.

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That year,

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they produce over 40 million more tons
of corn than three years earlier.

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Butz's plan has worked… too well, in fact.

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There's soon far too much corn.

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What can be done to solve this grain glut?

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[man] Japan, land of legends,
Land of the Rising Sun.

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[narrator] In the 1960s,

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Japanese scientists figured out a way
to mass-produce a sticky sweetener

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made from corn.

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Butz realizes this method
could use up his problematic surplus,

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and he encourages American producers

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to start making the syrup
on a commercial scale.

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The US high fructose corn syrup industry

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is born.

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So how exactly
is this innovative sweetener made?

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Corn kernels are soaked
and then milled to produce cornstarch.

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Two different enzymes
are added to the cornstarch,

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breaking it down
into smaller glucose molecules.

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A third enzyme then turns this glucose
into another sugar called fructose,

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which is found naturally
in fruit and honey.

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The fructose is mixed with glucose syrup,

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making a sweet, gloopy mixture,

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{\an8}high fructose corn syrup.

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{\an8}But the name is confusing.

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Its fructose content is only high

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compared to regular corn syrup.

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It has roughly the same amount
of fructose as ordinary sugar.

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Still, if turning corn into a sweetener
is going to help the grain glut,

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there needs to be a demand for the stuff.

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And at first, there's not much interest
from food companies

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to make the switch from sugar,
a tried-and-tested sweetener

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used for over 5,000 years.

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But by 1974,

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global sugar demand
starts to exceed supply,

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partly due to the failure
of Europe's sugar beet crop.

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{\an8}[man] Brokers have seen
the cost of raw sugar

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{\an8}nearly doubling in eight weeks.

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{\an8}The industry says prices are high
because of a worldwide shortage.

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[narrator] It has real impact
at the checkout counter.

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[woman] Two dollars and 20 cents.

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Ridiculous.

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[narrator] Food companies
start to turn their attention

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to high fructose corn syrup.

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There's a nearly unlimited supply,
and it's produced in the US,

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while 50% of sugar is imported
and subject to quotas and tariffs.

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By the end of 1974,

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Dr. Pepper, Fanta, and Sprite

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start using high fructose corn syrup
in their sodas.

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Still, the biggest brands are holding out.

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And unfortunately for corn farmers,
their market advantage doesn't last long.

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Sugar crops recover,
and the price of sugar plummets.

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Corn refiners can't make
high fructose corn syrup cheaply enough

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to compete.

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To make matters worse, in January 1980,

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President Jimmy Carter
decides to penalize the Soviet Union

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for their invasion of Afghanistan

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with a grain embargo.

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[crowd chanting]

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{\an8}The 17 million tons of grain
ordered by the Soviet Union

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{\an8}in excess of that amount
which we are committed to sell

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{\an8}will not be delivered.

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[narrator] The international market
for all that corn shrivels.

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{\an8}[man] Everyone wanted to sell
and no one to buy,

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{\an8}as grain prices fell by the maximum margin
allowed in a single day.

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[narrator] With corn prices in free fall,

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high fructose corn syrup
suddenly gets a whole lot cheaper,

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and that finally gets the attention
of big beverage brands.

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In 1980,

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Coca-Cola announces it will substitute
high fructose corn syrup

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for 50% of the sugar used in Coke.

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Within two months,

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Pepsi introduces it
into their fountain soda too.

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Meanwhile,
President Carter's grain embargo

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remains highly unpopular among farmers,

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and his opponent
in the 1980 election, Ronald Reagan,

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uses their outrage to his advantage.

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{\an8}When the president
"just" employed the grain embargo,

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it was grandstanding
for the American people at your expense.

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[narrator] On election night,
Reagan wins by a landslide,

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becoming the 40th President
of the United States.

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{\an8}There's never been a more humbling moment
in my life.

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[narrator] Great news
for Reagan and corn farmers.

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Within four months of taking office,
the new president ends the grain embargo.

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{\an8}Could be
that the corn market'll come up now,

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{\an8}and we'll make some money this year.

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[narrator] The price of sugar
in the US heads north

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after Reagan introduces
restrictive quotas on sugar imports.

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Once again, high fructose corn syrup
is the cheaper sweetener.

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Now, more and more of the big beverage
and food manufacturing companies

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scramble to switch.

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And people start to consume more syrup.

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In 1981,

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the average American eats four teaspoons
of high fructose corn syrup per day.

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That's 13.4 pounds every year.

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High fructose corn syrup starts popping up
all over the supermarket.

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{\an8}First on our shopping spree…

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{\an8}Yay!

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{\an8}[narrator] From baked goods…

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{\an8}Cookies! What about cookies?

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{\an8}[narrator] …to cereal and even in wine.

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But most consumers are in the dark
about what this new sweetener actually is.

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In terms of sweetness and calories,

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high fructose corn syrup
and regular table sugar are the same.

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So what's the difference between them?

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Chemically, not much.

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Sugar is made of one molecule of glucose
bound to one molecule of fructose.

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High fructose corn syrup
is made from these same molecules,

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but they aren't bound together.
They're free to float around.

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{\an8}And this gives high fructose corn syrup
an edge

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{\an8}when it comes to some processed food.

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{\an8}It retains moisture better than sugar,
extending its shelf life

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{\an8}as well as improving
the appearance and texture of food.

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In 1984,

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Coca-Cola, one of the world's
largest buyers of sugar,

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announces it will switch
most of its US products

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to using high fructose corn syrup.

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And Pepsi does too.

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It's predicted that the move will add
about a million tons to domestic demand.

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And high fructose corn syrup
isn't just taking over beverages.

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By 1985, it's replaced sugar
in lots of processed foods,

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and its market share is more than a third
of all caloric sweeteners.

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{\an8}Cheaper products
now flood supermarket shelves

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{\an8}and the fast-food market.

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It's great for
corn-processing companies' bottom lines

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but not for consumers' bottoms.

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There's a rise in all kinds
of processed food

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loaded with caloric sweeteners,

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and by the mid-1980s, it's clear.

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Americans are getting fatter.

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{\an8}For the first time,

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{\an8}experts from across the country
are calling obesity a killer disease.

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[narrator] As of 1985,

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around 20% of people
are classified as obese.

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For now, most people
are pointing the finger at fat

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rather than sugar,

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which works out pretty well
for the corn syrup industry.

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{\an8}Food producers know that cutting the fat
makes processed food a lot less tasty.

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So to put out low-fat products
that are still flavorful,

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food companies start adding
more and more sweeteners,

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like high fructose corn syrup,

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which means these low-fat foods
often have just as many calories

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as the high-fat versions.

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But the public is hungry
for that low-fat label.

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They assume it means
they can eat as much as they like

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and often end up eating more than ever.

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For food producers,

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the low-fat diet means fat profits.

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But for the rest of us?

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Well, we just get fatter.

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{\an8}By 1987,

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{\an8}the amount of high fructose corn syrup
Americans eat has more than doubled

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{\an8}to 8.3 teaspoons per day.

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{\an8}Twenty-eight pounds per year.

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{\an8}We ask our mom and dad
if we can go to the fast-food restaurant,

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{\an8}and we like it

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'cause there's good food there.

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[narrator] Thanks in part
to high fructose corn syrup,

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food and drink is now cheap and plentiful,

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but it's only a taste of what's to come.

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1988 sees Taco Bell
launch free refills on soft drinks.

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Other fast-food restaurants
are quick to do the same.

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By 1989,

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around 26% of US adults are obese.

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Throughout the '90s,

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high fructose corn syrup
goes from strength to strength.

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Supersizing is now all the rage,

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and soda sizes balloon.

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In 1999, domestic production
of the syrup peaks at 9.5 million tons.

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That same year,

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{\an8}consumption catapults to historic levels.

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{\an8}People in the US now eat 11.1 teaspoons
of the sweetener daily,

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{\an8}a massive 37.5 pounds per year.

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Meanwhile,
Americans get fatter and fatter.

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In 1999, obesity levels reach 36%.

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{\an8}As we go into the next millennium,

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{\an8}undoubtedly, obesity will become
the number one major health problem.

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[narrator] In the early 2000s,

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an academic study on obesity
makes an eye-popping connection.

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{\an8}Researchers chart data on the consumption
of high fructose corn syrup

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{\an8}and compare it to obesity rates.

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{\an8}The two graphs follow
a remarkably similar trajectory.

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People start to wonder,

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is high fructose corn syrup to blame
for America's thickening waistlines?

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{\an8}It is low-nutrition, high-calorie stuff

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{\an8}and in part probably why there's
an obesity epidemic in this country.

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[narrator] So does
high fructose corn syrup

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really make us fat?

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Well, like anything to do with diet,

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it's complicated.

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{\an8}There are plenty of other factors
that cause obesity.

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{\an8}But it seems high fructose corn syrup
has made soda drinks cheaper and larger.

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{\an8}American adults are now guzzling
29% more soft drinks

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{\an8}than 25 years earlier.

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{\an8}It's also boosted
the popularity of processed foods,

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which are dense in calories
and easy to binge.

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People who eat them consume
an average of 500 calories more a day

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than those sticking to unprocessed foods.

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Since 1975,

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total consumption
of caloric sweeteners has rocketed 25%,

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with high fructose corn syrup
increasing more than 1000%.

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{\an8}And because adding any
of these sweeteners, including sugar,

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{\an8}can promote weight gain,

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{\an8}the more of it we eat, the fatter we get.

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By 2007,

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high fructose corn syrup
has a bad reputation.

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[screams]

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{\an8}Which would you honestly say
is more likely to contribute to the death

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{\an8}of your average American?

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A terrorist strike
or high fructose corn syrup?

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00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:26,800
[narrator] But high fructose corn syrup

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00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,280
remains one of the top sweeteners
in the US,

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delivering huge paydays.

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{\an8}In 2008, one of the major players
in the market, Archer Daniels Midland,

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reports an operating profit
of $529 million

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from their sweetener division.

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To keep the profits rolling in,

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the Corn Refiners Association
fights back against the bad publicity.

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00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,920
{\an8}Our product has been
highly mischaracterized

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{\an8}in the public domain.

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[narrator] The CRA insists
high fructose corn syrup

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00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,200
is no worse for you
than any other caloric sweetener.

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00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:07,320
{\an8}High fructose corn syrup is a nutritional,
biochemical, and caloric equivalent

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{\an8}of table sugar.

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00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:10,400
{\an8}[narrator] And in 2008,

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{\an8}the American Medical Association
seems to agree.

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00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:18,600
{\an8}Still, around 53% of Americans
are concerned

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00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:21,960
that high fructose corn syrup
may pose a health hazard.

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00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:24,600
[explosion rumbles]

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But for most people,

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it's hard to avoid.

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High fructose corn syrup
is now used in thousands of food items.

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It's everywhere.

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And like so many hit American products,

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it's taken off around the world.

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In 2009,

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{\an8}the world produces 15.7 million tons
of high fructose corn syrup,

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enough to sweeten 53 cans of soda

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for everyone on the planet.

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The vast majority, almost 70%,

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comes from the US,

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followed by Japan, and then China.

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The US consumes the most,

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more than 60%,

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00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:14,680
followed by Mexico and Japan.

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Other countries hardly use it at all,

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many preferring their homegrown sugar.

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Despite its tarnished reputation,

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00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,920
the high fructose corn syrup industry
continues to make mega-profits,

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00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:35,240
in part because of US government subsidies
to corn producers.

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Between 1995 and 2020,

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00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:43,520
federal corn subsidies
total $116.6 billion,

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far more than
any other agricultural industry.

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How much do you,
does your family get a year at the moment?

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Somewhere around $20 an acre.

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[narrator] Why?

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Perhaps due to a quirk
of the American electoral system.

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{\an8}We're gonna make…
America grow again, grow.

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That begins
with supporting our family farms

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right here in Iowa.

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[narrator] Iowa grows
more corn than any other state,

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00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:16,440
and it also happens to be the first state
to choose presidential candidates

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00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:18,480
from the major political parties.

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00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:23,960
So a whole lot of politicians are eager
to get corn farmers on their side.

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00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:27,400
{\an8}I know Iowa's gonna be key
to what happens to America

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{\an8}in the next generation.

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[cheering and applause]

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[narrator] The corn industry today

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00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,920
may still enjoy
outsized political influence,

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00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,080
but high fructose corn syrup
is still struggling to win

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00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,000
in the court of public opinion.

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{\an8}Big brands like Papa John's Pizza,
Burger King, and McDonald's

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00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:49,440
{\an8}start to back away from it.

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00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:54,040
[man] We are creating
a different food culture at McDonald's.

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00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,880
{\an8}Removing high fructose corn syrup
from our buns…

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[narrator] By 2020,

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00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:02,040
{\an8}Americans' consumption
of high fructose corn syrup

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00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:04,240
{\an8}has nearly halved since its peak

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00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,800
{\an8}to 6.2 teaspoons every day.

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00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:09,880
{\an8}That's 21.1 pounds per year.

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00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,520
High fructose corn syrup
remains highly controversial,

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00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,360
but there's no doubt
it has transformed the American diet.

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00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,960
Switching out sugar has helped give
the public cheaper processed food,

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00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:26,800
free refills, and huge portions.

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00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:28,840
Mm. Mmm!

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00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,160
[narrator] And thanks
to those huge government subsidies

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00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:33,440
and mega-profits,

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00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:38,080
high fructose corn syrup is unlikely
to be going anywhere anytime soon.

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00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,760
The thing is, despite all that bad PR,

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00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,800
including a deluge of social media videos
warning about the sweetener…

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00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:53,600
{\an8}X out high fructose corn syrup.
Don't put it in your daily diet please.

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00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,320
[narrator] …there's really not much
separating high fructose corn syrup

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from regular sugar.

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00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,840
As for how they affect the taste of food,

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well, that's in the tongue
of the beholder.

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[man] They are basically equivalent.

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{\an8}The problem is they're both bad.

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00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:14,360
[narrator] The reality is,
when it comes to overeating,

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00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,160
it's easier to blame an ingredient
than our own habits.

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00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:20,640
It's far better to avoid eating

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00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,120
ultra-processed
and high-sugar foods altogether,

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00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:28,440
but of course, that would make life
a lot less sweet.

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[upbeat jazz music plays]